Why we should expect scientists to disagree. In general, science is much more complex than many people are comfortable with.
Category Archives: Science And Society
Cancer, Herpes and Metformin
Another example of how our current drug-regulatory process may be killing people. I may start taking metformin. Since everyone has diabetes these days, I should be able to get a prescription for it.
Heinlein’s Crazy Years
Glenn Reynolds (and Sarah Hoyt, and others) writes that we’re living through them. Sure looks like it.
[Update a while later]
Our vague yet imminent malaise.
[Update late morning]
Speaking of Sarah Hoyt, from late last week, strange days in America.
The Eclipse In Southern California
Would have liked to see totality (guess it remains on the bucket list, maybe 2024 or somewhere else sooner), but we got about sixty percent coverage here. There was a thick marine layer when we awoke, but the clouds broke up in time for us to watch the whole thing. As I saw the moon slice along the left side of the sun, it was easy to imagine it projecting the full shadow a thousand miles north. I took a picture of a natural pinhole camera with hundreds of crescents in our driveway.
Just past peak in Manhattan Beach. pic.twitter.com/OHCvj9DFh6
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) August 21, 2017
A few of my eclipse jokes on Twitter:
If I were Trump, I'd have gone out on the Truman balcony and announced to my Red State supporters that I'll be bringing the sun back soon.
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) August 21, 2017
Making eclipses grate again! https://t.co/APqwah83oQ
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) August 21, 2017
There is nothing an eclipse can do that will cause it to lose its base supporters. https://t.co/qjv3hj0jEp
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) August 21, 2017
OK, eclipse is almost over in Los Angeles. Safe to look at the sun without glasses again.
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) August 21, 2017
Eclipse is over; it's OK to let your kids and pets stare at the sun again. #NotReally #DontDoThis
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) August 21, 2017
OK, show's over out west. Safe to release all the coons, squirrels and other varmints you people brought into your homes for their safety.
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) August 21, 2017
The Climate “Science” “Report”
Let’s do a crowdsourcing review of it.
The Lancet
…has reviewed Nina Teichholz’s book
Many readers will be incensed by this book. If you think saturated fats and cholesterol are bad for you, you’ll be incensed. If you think the fat story is exaggerated, you’ll be incensed. If you trust in the objectivity of science to inform health policy, you’ll be incensed. Stories of shocking scientific corruption and culpability by government agencies are all to be found in Nina Teicholz’s bestseller The Big Fat Surprise. This is a disquieting book about scientific incompetence, evangelical ambition, and ruthless silencing of dissent that has shaped our lives for decades.
Good for her.
Animal Reactions To The Eclipse
Just had an argument on Twitter with someone who doesn’t believe they’ll have them, but the reports go back centuries. They’ll be very confused.
Low Fat Versus Low Carb
A major new study. This is an important point that too few pay attention to; it’s not about weight loss per se:
The 18-mo moderate weight loss of 3.7 kg was similar in both groups, but the reduction in waist circumference was higher in the MED/LC group (−6.9 ± 6.6 cm) than in the LF diet group (−2.3 ± 6.5 cm; P = 0.01). After 18 mo, the IPF volume had reduced twice as much in the MED/LC group compared with the LF group [−37 ± 26.2 mL (−22% ± 15%) compared with −15.5 ± 26.2 mL (−8% ± 15%), respectively; P < 0.05, after adjustment for changes in weight or visceral adipose tissue]. [My emphasis]
This is one reason BMI is BS. Another is that it doesn’t take into account the difference between muscle mass and fat.
Postmodernism
It’s the cause of the mess in academia, and it’s starting to collide with its own internal contradictions.
Rejuvenating Aging Hearts
…with young stem cells.
Faster, please.